Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
by TrueAngelofMusic1
Summary: A Petty Officer is killed, leaving his two daughters without a parent. Gibbs agrees to let them stay with him and protect them until the case is over and the killer is found. But will the girls teach Gibbs a lesson about family, love, and hope?
1. Murder and A Meeting

**So this is my first time writing an NCIS fic and I really hope that it goes well. I have recently become OBSESSED with the show and this story just came to me. Just so everyone knows, I'm still going to work on my other stories, I just really needed to get this one out there. So PLEASE let me know what you think! If I get a few reviews I will continue posting (I already have the first couple of chapters written but I'm not going to post them if no one is reading it) Enjoy!**

**Murder and a Meeting**

Tony DiNozzo was leaning back in his chair at his desk, crumpling up pieces of paper and tossing them at Timothy McGee, who was sitting at his own desk. Tony was bored senseless and had been throwing the paper at McGee for almost twenty minutes, resulting in a rather large pile accumulating on the floor and his desk. One piece hit him right in the side of the face.

"Cut it out Tony!" McGee demanded, grabbing an already crumpled paper off of his desk and trying to hit Tony with it, but failing when it flew right past him.

"Not a chance Probie." He retorted. "We haven't had an assignment in days and I'm _bored_." He said, emphasizing the last word. McGee merely rolled his eyes.

"If it's that much of a problem, I'm sure that I can find you some work to do." He offered. Tony opened his mouth, about to protest, but was interrupted when Agent Jethro Leroy Gibbs walked in.

"No need McGee." He said as he walked by. "I've got a dead Marine outside of a café on U Street. Let's go." He said in his usual 'no questions asked' voice. It was nearly impossible to question Gibbs anyways, not that any sane person would ever try.

Tony jumped up, happy to finally be getting away from his desk, followed closely by Ziva and McGee. The four of them quickly exited the NCIS building.

… … … … …. ….

Crowds of people were watching from behind yellow tape, trying to catch a glimpse of the crime scene in front of them. A man, looking to be in his late thirties, was lying dead of the ground, a bullet wound prominent in the middle of his forehead. Blood was pooled all around the man and Gibbs and his team, along with other police officers and investigators, were all working on different things around the scene.

Ziva was knelt down beside the dead man, pulling a wallet with an ID out of his pocket. Gibbs stood next to her, waiting to hear the man's identity.

"Petty Officer Daniel Greene." She read. She was about to say more when a police officer interrupted.

"I could have told you that." He said as he stood next to Gibbs.

"And how is that?" Gibbs asked, curious to how he already had this information and why it hadn't been shared with him before. The police officer pointed to a street bench a few yards away that had two girls sitting on it. The older one looked like she was in her mid teens, while the younger one looked barely six or seven years old.

"Petty Officer Daniel Greene's daughters." He informed him. "They were with him when he was killed. The older one is the person who first called us."

"Did you get any information from them besides his name?" Gibbs asked the officer, who just shook his head. "Nothing. They wouldn't speak once we got here. We were told his name over the phone, but nothing else. I can't even get _their_ names from them." He said with a sigh.

"Then I think I better go talk to them. Ziva, call Ducky and get him to take Officer Greene to autopsy." He instructed before walking towards the bench where the girls were sitting. Ziva nodded her head before pulling out her cell phone.

Gibbs slowed down to examine the girls before speaking. They were sitting close together, the older girl's arm over the younger one's shoulder. The older girl had straight hair that was such a dark brown it was almost black that went about halfway down her back. Her dark brown eyes flashed with worry when she saw Gibbs approaching. She held tighter onto her sister, whose blonde hair barely reached her shoulders. Gibbs knelt down in front of them.

"Hello girls. I'm Agent Gibbs." He said, trying to sound least intimidating as possible, hoping to gain their trust fast so he could get the information he needed quickly. "What are your names?" he asked.

There was complete silence from them. After almost a full minute of nothing, Gibbs figured they weren't about to answer.

"Can you tell me anything about what happened today? Why you were here, if you noticed anything strange, if you saw who shot your father…" he prompted, hoping to get some kind, _any kind_, of response from them. At the mention of her father, a small whimper escaped from the tiny girl. The older one immediately tightened her arms around her sister in an attempt to comfort her. She shot Gibbs an angry look, mad at him for upsetting the child, but still remained silent. Gibbs sighed.

"Listen, I know that this isn't easy." Gibbs said, trying to reason with them. "But the sooner you give me the information I need, the sooner we can contact your mother and get her to pick you up-"

"You can't. She's dead." The older girl interrupted harshly. "She's been dead for a year." Gibbs felt a quick pang of sympathy, but remembered the job he needed to get done.

"Who is another relative we can call to get you for the time being?" he asked.

"We don't have any other family." She told him. "It's just been us and our father for the past year." Gibbs was silent, trying to make a decision to what he was going to do. He knew that he couldn't just leave them there; social services would bring them to some state children's home. He had seen what that place had done to kids in the past and he was sure that wasn't what Officer Greene would have wanted for his daughters. The least he could do for the dead man was make sure his children were taken somewhere safe, at least while the crime scene was being cleaned up.

"How about this," Gibbs said. "you tell me your names and I'll have one of my agents take you to our headquarters and you can answer some questions there. We'll find out where you will stay from there, okay?" The dark haired girl took a moment to think it over before nodding her head.

"Fine." She agreed, though it didn't sound like she was completely okay with it. But judging by the way she looked around the area, the body of her father being taken off the ground only yards away, it was clear she would rather be anywhere but there. "I'm Alena and this is Sophie" she said, referring the girl she still had her arms wrapped around. Gibbs stood up.

"Come with me." He instructed, motioning for the girls to stand up. Alena held tightly onto Sophie's hand. Gibbs just noticed that Sophie was clutching onto an old stuffed rabbit. They both followed him to a truck surrounded by a couple of people.

"Ziva, McGee, DiNozzo," Gibbs barked at three of the people.

"Ducky took Officer Greene to autopsy." Ziva told him. Gibbs nodded and motioned to the girls standing a few feet behind him.

"This is Alena and Sophie Greene, Petty Officer Greene's daughter" he told them. He pointed at Tony. "I want you to take them back to headquarters so I can ask them some questions there." He motioned for the girls to enter the car before pulling Tony aside.

"I'll be there in a little while. I just need to finish up some things here with Ziva and McGee first." He said. "Until then, I want you to watch them like a hawk. The youngest one seems upset but she should be fine. But the older one, Alena, I don't knew what to think of her yet. But I have a feeling that she knows a lot of things that we need and we don't need her getting away before we can get the information." Tony nodded in understanding before getting in the drivers seat of the car.

… … … … … … …

Tony was sitting at his desk, making sure to glance over his computer monitor every few minutes to check on the girls who were both sitting in chairs closer to Ziva's empty desk. Sophie was silently playing with the stuffed rabbit that hadn't left her hands since they arrived and Alena was looking around cautiously, as if she expected something to jump out at her any second. She stood up and began to take a step away from the desks.

"Hey! Stay here." Tony said quickly, remembering what Gibbs had told him to do. He did not want to think about what Gibbs would do to him if he lost their main witness, a child no less, after only an hour.

Alena crossed her arms and rolled her eyes at him. "I'm just going to look out the window." She said impatiently before continuing to walk away. Tony was about to argue but decided against it; it's not like he could expect her to stare at the wall all day.

Sophie stood up as well, but didn't follow her sister. Instead, she began to twirl around the room, humming softly to herself. As she spun past his desk she knocked over a stack of papers, scattering them all over the floor. Tony groaned and leaned down to pick them up while Sophie continued moving around the room. Fearing that she could do worse damage than knocking over some papers, he hoped that her sister could control her. He poked his head up towards the widow where she had been.

"Hey, Alena, maybe you could-" he stopped quickly, realizing that there was no one there. He stood up and looked around. "Alena?" he called, a bit more worry in his voice. He didn't see her anywhere. He looked over and saw the younger girl now sitting on the ground, her skirt sprawled out around her, once again quietly playing by herself.

"Sophie," he said, causing the girl to look up. "Do you know where your sister went?" he asked hopefully. She just shook her head and looked back down at her stuffed animal.

"Gibbs is gonna kill me." He said to himself as he walked quickly over to Sophie and scooped her up into his arms. He left the bullpen, hoping that Alena couldn't have gotten far.

**Uh oh, Tony isn't a very good babysitter :P **

**Let me know what you thought of the chapter and if you think I should continue! **


	2. A Few New Friends

**A Few New Friends**

The elevator opened with a _ding_ at the bottom floor of NCIS and Alena stepped out of it. She walked down the hall and into a very clean, very white lab. When she went further into the room she saw medical tools all around, some that she didn't even recognize. Two men were taking off gloves and washing their hands over by a sink. One was old but one barely looked like he was in his thirties. They continued talking for a few minutes before the older man looked up and saw her.

"Can I help you?" he asked, his voice had a light accent. When he spoke, the younger one looked over to her as well.

"I don't know. Maybe." She answered. "I'm assuming this is autopsy?" she asked.

"You assume correctly." The older one said. "I am Doctor Mallard and this is Mr. Palmer."

"I'm Alena Greene. Petty Officer Greene's daughter." She said, not knowing how else to introduce herself.

"Ah," Doctor Mallard said, nodding in understanding. "In that case, you may call me Ducky." He said with a smile, causing Alena to give a small smile too, her first in hours. "What can I do for you Alena?" he asked her. She took a few more steps into the room, looking at everything around her. She stopped when she saw a table with a dark blue cloth covering something.

"Is that him?" she asked quietly, wanting to look away but not able to avert her eyes. Ducky cleared his throat uncomfortably and moved closer to her.

"You really shouldn't be down here," he said softly.

"Have you performed his autopsy yet?" she asked, ignoring him.

"Yes." He answered after a moment. "I was just about to send the…um, evidence, to our forensic scientist to be examined." He said, carefully trying to choose words that wouldn't upset her. He didn't know how upset or traumatized she might already be. After all, she had just witnessed her father being killed right in front of her not a full two hours ago.

"You mean the bullet." She stated, not needing to ask. She knew what he meant, she wasn't stupid. He watched her eyes fill with tears, but they didn't fall. Instead she sniffed them back quickly and the look of sadness was replaced with one of anger. He knew the look, he had seen it on other witnesses and relatives of victims before. While some people chose to deal with their sadness by acting sad, some chose to replace the sadness with anger. It wasn't common, but not too rare either. But to see it in a young girl though, now that was the rare part. He had often seen the people who replaced their sadness with anger make wrong, terrible decisions and he did not want this girl to make those mistakes out of grief. He immediately wanted to get her mind somewhere else, before her anger grew.

"Would you like to accompany Mr. Palmer to our forensic scientist's lab?" he asked her. "Her name is Abigail Sciuto. I think you might like her." He said, knowing it was true. He knew if anyone could make her feel better, it was Abby. Alena only had to think it over for a moment. She knew that she wasn't even supposed to be down there. She should be back upstairs with Sophie. But the thought of spending another second with her prison guard, Agent DiNozzo, made her shudder.

"Okay" she agreed. Jimmy Palmer came up behind Ducky with a jar in his hand. Alena didn't have to look at it to know what was inside, nor did she want to.

"Follow me." He said to her. Alena stayed close behind him as she followed him to a room down the hall. Before they even entered, the sound of music was loud enough to make her want to cover her ears. Inside was alight with screens and monitors and colored buttons on machines that were unrecognizable. In front of one of the machines was a girl with black hair that was pulled into two pigtails. Alena saw her short black skirt, choker necklace, and heavy makeup and wondered if she could possibly be a professional forensic scientist. This girl looked more like one of the goth kids that went to her school. The ones that she did _not_ get along with. Why did Ducky think that she would be friends with this Abigail?

"Abby!" Jimmy called out, having to yell over the blasting music. She turned away from the machine, her face lighting up in a smile when she saw him.

"Hi Jimmy!" she shouted before clicking some buttons behind her, shutting off the music. When she turned back to face them, she noticed Alena for the first time.

"Who's this?" she asked, examining her.

"This is Alena Greene. Officer Daniel Greene's daughter." He told her. Alena wondered if she would ever stop being introduced as that, but doubted it.

"Oh yeah, Gibbs called and said that you and your sister might be staying here for awhile." Abby said.

"He did?" Alena asked. "I mean, I know that I am supposed to be here for now, but he never told me how long we have to stay. Did he tell you?" she asked. She wanted to leave the NCIS building as soon as possible. She disliked everything about it. The way everyone knew her only as 'Petty Officer Daniel Greene's daughter', Agent DiNozzo acting like her captor, and the fact that everywhere she looked she was reminded that her father was really gone.

"Not exactly," Abby answered. "But don't worry, he'll tell you everything you need to know as soon as he gets back. Gibbs is really nice. Well, once you get past the initial impression that a wrong look from him could kill you which, I guess it could. But once you get to know him you will love him, I promise." Alena could barely keep up with how fast she was talking. And the way she bounced from one topic to another was utterly confusing. She figured the only reason she could keep up was because most conversations with Sophie were surprisingly similar. Though, to be fair, Sophie was only six and was _supposed_ to talk like that.

"I have no intention of getting to know him." Alena said coldly, crossing her arms. She knew that she didn't like Agent Gibbs; he was the one that had forced her and her sister to go to NCIS without even asking. And even so, he hadn't bothered to show up yet.

Abby sighed. "Oh, of course you will. I promise, he is a great guy." She said with a smile. Alena didn't believe her, but decided that arguing with this girl was going to get her no where. She began to look around the room, fascinated by all the different technology surrounding her. Abby noticed her face lighting up at the sight of her lab.

"Do you like it?" she asked hopefully.

Alena nodded her head. "It's amazing." She said in wonder. Hearing this, Abby's smile grew wider.

"I can show you around if you want." She offered.

"I'd love that. Thank you Abigail." Alena said gratefully.

"Please, call me Abby."

… … … … … … …

Almost an hour later, a breathless Tony ran out of the elevator still carrying Sophie in his arms. He moved quickly to Abby's lab, which was oddly lacking the sound of blaring heavy metal music. When he entered the lab he let out a breath of relief when he saw Alena standing over one of the machines with Abby, nodding her head and listening as she explained the use of it.

"Alena!" Tony called, his voice showing more than a hint of annoyance. She turned her head away from Abby and towards Tony. A smirk crossed her face when she saw how flustered he looked.

"Oh, hey Agent DiNozzo." She said nonchalantly. "What's up?"

"What's up? I've been looking for you for an hour!" he yelled. "I told you not to leave and you did! I searched the entire building for you. I was starting to think that you just left!" As he spoke, his voice grew louder and louder. Alena could barely stifle a laugh at how ridiculous he looked and sounded. Did he honestly think that she was going to just sit there and wait for Agent Gibbs to get back for hours and not find something to do?

"Of course I wouldn't leave." She said defensively. "I would never go without Sophie." She crossed the room until she was close enough to take her sister out of Tony's arms and into her own. She kissed her sister lightly on the cheek and looked innocently up at him. She turned around to face the forensic scientist who was still behind them.

"Abby, this is my little sister Sophie." She said. "Sophie, this is Abby." She told the sister in her arms. Sophie gave a small wave and smiled at Abby.

"She's adorable!" Abby squealed as she stepped closer. In the past hour, Alena had learned that even though Abby _looked_ like the goth kids at her school, she acted nothing like them. She was the happiest goth she had ever met.

"Abby!" Tony called from across the room. "Why didn't you tell me that she was down here?"

"You didn't ask." She said with a shrug before turning her attention back to Sophie. Tony stood there, stunned that, after all he had just done to find this girl, she had been with Abby the entire time. And now he was being completely ignored, as if she hadn't completely disobeyed him by coming down there. He might have said something more if his cell phone hadn't rung at that moment.

"Hello?" he asked as he flipped the phone open. He listened to the other end for a moment before hanging up.

"Alena," he said "time to go back upstairs. Gibbs is here."

**Thank you for the reviews on the last chapter. Because of them, I have decided to continue the story :) As long as I keep getting feedback and know that people are still interested, I will keep posting. Updates wont usually be up this quickly, maybe once or twice a week from now on, but I just wanted to get this one out quicker. Let me know what you think!**


	3. Questions

**Questions**

Alena sat in an empty conference room, her hands on her lap. She had been sitting in there by herself for about ten minutes but no one had come in yet. Agent Gibbs had told her to go in there and wait for him. She had insisted on bringing Sophie, but he refused, saying that she would be fine with Agent David and Agent McGee. She was beginning to get worried at what he might be talking about that was taking him so long. Finally, the door opened and he walked in the room. He didn't look very happy. He sat down in the chair and looked at her before speaking.

"So how are you holding up?" he asked her, still well aware that she had just gone through something that no kid should have to. She was surprised; besides Abby and Ducky, it had seemed like everyone else had already forgotten.

She shrugged her shoulders. "Alright, I guess." She said quietly, looking down at the table. There was another moment of silence before Gibbs spoke again.

"So I was talking to Agent DiNozzo," he began.

_Uh oh,_ she thought _this can't be good_

"He told me that you disobeyed him and left the area without his permission." When he had found this out, Gibbs had head slapped Tony even harder than usual. Tony was lucky that he found her before he came back, or else it would have been even worse.

"I stayed in the building!" she said defensively. "I just wanted to walk around and see what else was going on in here. We were just sitting there and I wasn't going to do anything bad."

"From what I've heard from some people who know you, you are something of an escape artist." He accused. She could feel her cheeks burning.

"I don't know what you mean." She said quietly, not looking up at him.

"They told me that you are particularly good at running away, sneaking out, getting past people…" he listed. "Is it true?"

"It might be." She admitted. She looked up at him. "Who told you this?"

"A friend of your father's." he told her. "Petty Officer Jonathan Winters. You know him?" Alena's face lit up when she heard the name.

"My dad's best friend." She told him. "I've known him since I was little. He's like an uncle. And he's Sophie's godfather." She said. "You talked to him?" she asked hopefully. Just hearing Jonathan's name gave her a spark of happiness that she didn't think she would be able to feel so soon after her father's death. She and Jonathan had been so close her entire life. She knew that if anyone could get her out of there, it would be him.

"I did." Gibbs said with a nod. "I called him after you left to tell him about what happened. He gave me some information about you and Sophie, some things that I might need to know."

"Like what?" Alena asked, wondering which stories Jonathan might have told Gibbs. She could think of dozens that could get her in trouble. Things that only Jonathan knew.

"Doesn't matter for now." He said dismissively. "Right now, I want you to tell me about what happened today. I need to know everything so we can track down whoever did this." Alena said nothing, but nodded her head in agreement.

"First, why were you at U Street Café?"

"My dad was taking me and Sophie out for breakfast. We go there every Thursday morning. We've done it for years."

"What time did you get there?"

"About seven o'clock." She said, straining her memory a little more, trying to find the most accurate information.

"Tell me what happened after you got there."

She took a nervous breath, scared about how reliving that moment would feel. But she knew, no matter how much she disliked Agent Gibbs, she needed to tell him everything. "Everything was normal while we were eating. We were on our way out. Right as dad opened the door, I heard the gunshot." She said, holding back the urge to cringe at the memory of the sound. "I was holding onto Sophie and I think I was closing my eyes. It was really quiet for a few moments and then I heard some people screaming. I looked over to where my dad had been standing and…" her voice trailed off and she turned her face away.

"Did you notice anything strange before?" Gibbs asked. "Was your father acting differently? Or anyone in the café being suspicious?" Alena closed her eyes, trying to remember everything, hoping something might come up that she hadn't thought of before. She let out a frustrated sigh.

"No" she said. "Everything seemed really normal."

Gibbs took a few seconds to write down some things in his notepad. "Did your dad have any enemies? Someone that you know dislikes him? Someone that may have wanted to hurt him?"

"No, everyone loved my dad." She said, knowing that it was true. She had never met one person who didn't immediately like him.

Gibbs let out a sigh, realizing that there was nothing else he could get out of her at the moment. He would have to start the investigation without any extra clues. Now, he had to deal with the task of finding out where the two girls would be staying for the next few days or weeks.

"So, you're sure that you have no other relatives?" he asked.

"Yes. Our parents were both only children and our grandparents all died when I was little." She said, not sounding overly sad. She had gotten used to the life of her small family. After her mother died she quickly adjusted to life with just her father and sister, no one else. She had thought she liked being part of a small family. But now that it was just her and her sister, she wasn't so sure she liked it anymore. Gibbs wasn't surprised by her answer, he had been expecting it.

"I talked to social services a little while ago." He told her. "Under normal circumstances, you and your sister would go into a state home until you were either given to whomever your father left you to on his will, or found another home. But unfortunately, these are not normal circumstances. Because we haven't yet caught whoever killed your father, you and your sister are both at risk. You both will be under the constant watch of me or another one of my agents."

"No!" she protested. She didn't even want to stay there for another hour, never mind for a few days or even weeks! "Agent Gibbs, there has to be another option." She pleaded. "Who did my dad name on his will to take care of us?" she asked.

"Jonathan Winters." He answered.

"Then I want to stay with him!" she insisted. "He's the one my dad wanted us to stay with. And he's a Navy Officer! He can take care of us just as well as you can." She tried to reason with him. She would do anything to get away from NCIS once and for all and just be with Jonathan.

"I'm sorry Alena, but for now staying with him is not an option." Gibbs said, his voice sounding nonnegotiable.

… … … … …. … ….

While Gibbs had Alena in the conference room, Ziva and McGee had been told to watch Sophie and make sure she stayed safe and with them at all times. At first she had been quietly playing by herself, giving the Agents the time they needed to start research for her father's case. But after a few minutes, she had gotten bored with that. She approached Ziva's desk.

"What's that?" she asked, pointing to the gun still clipped onto the Agent's belt. She hadn't taken it off since returning from the crime scene in case she needed to leave the building quickly, but she wished she had.

"Um, nothing." Ziva answered quickly.

"What does it do?" Sophie asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Nothing" Ziva repeated as she shot McGee a pleading look, hoping that he would help her. But before he could even say anything, Sophie skipped away from the desk and over to McGee.

"Where's Alena?" she asked him.

"She is with Agent Gibbs" he told her.

"Why?"

"Because he needed to ask her some questions."

"Why?"

"Because she knows some things that he wants to learn."

"Why?"

"Because she saw something he didn't."

"Why?"

"Because he wasn't there."

"Why?"

"Because he was here."

"Why?"

"Because this is where he works."

"Why?"

"Because it's where he wants to work."

"Why?"

McGee let out a long sigh. "Sophie, why don't you go play with your stuffed animal for a while?" he suggested, hoping to find something, _anything_, to get her to stop asking so many questions.

"But I've been doing that all day." She whined. "I'm bored." McGee thought for a moment, trying to think of something she could do before he got an idea.

"Do you like computer games?" he asked hopefully. She nodded quickly and smiled. McGee typed into his computer for a moment, pulling up some games, before standing up and lifting her onto the chair. Within seconds the girl's eyes were glued to the screen. McGee looked at her and smiled slightly before walking over to Ziva's desk.

"Did you find any information on Petty Officer Greene?" he asked quietly, hoping that Sophie wouldn't hear.

"A bit," Ziva said "But not much. He served for three years in Afghanistan and returned home two years ago. His wife was killed in a car accident last January, leaving him as the sole guardian to their two daughters. No criminal record, history of mental illness, or anything out of the ordinary." She told him.

"Should we bring Gibbs the information?" he asked her. "He should be finished talking to Alena soon and then he will probably want to talk to Sophie."

"I don't think that he will be able to speak with Sophie any time soon." Ziva said with a small smile on her face as she looked past McGee. He turned around to face where she was looking and saw Sophie fast asleep on his chair.

**I know that I said updates wouldn't happen every day, but I decided to get this one out today. Mostly because I really want to get this story going before I limit it to one update a week, but also because you guys have been so amazing in your reviews! THANK YOU! So NOW I'm serious about the one update a week :P **

**Also, I forgot to mention that the title of this story is a U2 song that I thought was fitting with the plot. (U2 is one of my favorite bands! My dog is even named after their guitar player) I HIGHLY recommend listening to the song because it is really amazing and will definitely go along with the story. A few of the chapter titles in this story will be quotes from the song or other songs that I like. (Imaginary Bonus Points to anyone who can guess the songs!) Okay, I'm pretty sure that's all I have to say for this chapter. I hope you liked it!**


	4. Leave All Thoughts of The World You Knew

**Leave All Thoughts of the World You Knew**

Gibbs was alone in the large room used for video calls. A man in his early thirties was on the screen. Although his expression was upset, it was obvious that he was a person who was often smiling and laughing.

"Thank you for talking to me, Officer Winters." Gibbs said.

"Of course, Agent Gibbs. Greene was my closest friend. He and his daughters are like family to me. Anything you need, please don't hesitate to ask."

"There are a few things that I would like to ask you now." Gibbs said. "Although I will need to ask you a few questions regarding Greene's murder, the main matter at hand is the care of his daughters."

"Daniel and his wife had me on their will as the guardian of both the girls if something were to ever happen to them." He informed him.

"I know that. But unfortunately, it isn't that simple. You see, because the case hasn't been closed yet, both of the girls are currently at risk. They will need to be under the watch of me and my agents at all times until we find Greene's killer."

"What does that mean?" Winters asked. "Where are they going to stay?"

Gibbs took a deep breath. "With me." He said. "They will stay with me in my home." He had decided a while ago that the only place he could be sure that the girls were safe was with him at his house. Even though he knew it was going to be a big change to have them there, he wasn't willing to risk the girl's lives by putting them somewhere else.

"With all due respect to you Agent Gibbs, I would feel more comfortable if they were with me." The man on the screen said. "I will make sure they are protected. I know that they need me, especially now. They would be able to cope with this all so much better with someone familiar than with strangers."

"And with all due respect to _you_ Officer Winters, that isn't an option. The girl's are staying with me until this case is closed and that is my final decision."

"Agent Gibbs you can't do that!" he almost shouted. "They need me! They need someone that they know and trust, not someone they have never even met. Their father was _killed _today! Right in front of them, no less. They need me." His voice broke at the end and he lowered his head.

"They need you?" Gibbs asked. "Or you need them?" There was silence on the other side of the screen. "I promise you Officer Winters, once everything is settled and it is certain that both of them are out of any and all harm, they will be put into your custody. But until then, this conversation is over." Winters sighed and nodded his head.

"Can I at least talk to them?" he asked quietly. Gibbs agreed and told him to wait while he got them. In a few minutes he came back in the room, Alena following him with a sleeping Sophie in her arms. Winters smiled softly at the sight. In all the madness and the pain of his best friend's death, at least he could now see for himself that the girls were safe.

"Johnny!" Alena said happily, a wide grin spreading across her face. Gibbs silently left the room, closing the door behind him and leaving them to speak alone.

"Hey Lena" Winters said "How's it going kid?"

Alena shrugged her shoulders. "Alright I guess." She let out a deep breath. "Johnny, you have to get us out of here." She pleaded. "I can't stand it. We've been here for almost four hours and I just want to leave! Agent Gibbs told me that we have to stay with him until this case is closed and who knows how long that's going to be? I want to be with you."

"I know Alena, I know." Winters said calmly. "But there isn't another choice right now. Agent Gibbs only wants what is best for you and Sophie and he thinks that this is going to keep you safe." He let out a long sigh. "And I think he's right. Don't worry, it's only for a little while. Besides, I'm sure he's not that bad."

"He is!" Alena argued. "He made me and Sophie come here without even asking us, he put us under the watch of some agent who we had never met before, and now he's telling us we have no choice but to stay with him and be watched all the time by him and the rest of his agents! How can you say he's not that bad?" she demanded loudly. Sophie stirred in her arms, but didn't wake up.

"Alena, listen to me." Jonathan said calmly. "I know it seems bad now, but you have to realize that it's for your own good. You wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you, right?"

"I can take care of myself." She said stubbornly.

"Fine, I know that." He allowed. "But you wouldn't want anything to happen to Sophie, would you? She can't protect herself but Agent Gibbs can. He'll make sure that nothing happens to her. Can you agree to stay with him and listen to what he tells you for her sake?" he asked, knowing just how to reason with her. Alena took a moment to think over his words.

"Fine." She agreed reluctantly. "I'll stay with him."

"That's my girl." Jonathan said with a half smile. "I promise that it won't be as bad as you think."

"I hope your right Johnny." She said with a sigh. "But you promise that once the case is closed we can come stay with you, right?"

"Of course." he promised. On his side of the screen there was a knock on a door and a faint shout could be heard. He rolled his eyes and groaned.

"I've got to go. But I'll see you in a few days, okay?" he said.

"Who's there?" she asked him, referring to the person she heard at his door.

"Just my brother." He said. Alena nodded. She had met Jonathan's brother, Nicholas Winters only a few times before but had never really spoken to him. He was much more withdrawn and quiet than his brother and didn't try to speak much with the Greene's. She didn't dislike him, but she didn't particularly like him either.

"See you soon Johnny." She said quietly as the screen turned black and the face of Jonathan Winters disappeared. She shifted Sophie, who was still fast asleep in her arms, slightly and kissed the top of her head lightly before carrying her out of the room.

… … … … … … …

At ten o'clock that night Alena was sitting up in the bed she was supposed to be sleeping in. Sophie was asleep in the bed across the room, as she had been for hours. They had arrived at Agent Gibbs' house at around six o'clock. Before getting there Agent Gibbs' had allowed them twenty minutes in their own house to pack a bag with clothes and whatever else they could fit. But of course it wasn't as simple as she thought it should have been. Before they went inside, Agent Gibbs had to do a sweep of the house to make sure no one else was in there. Then when he declared it safe, he made the three other agents keep watch outside.

She had learned their names after a few minutes of observing them back at NCIS headquarters. The female one with the dark hair and the Israeli accent (Alena was particularly good at identifying and placing accents, something that Johnny had taught her when she was younger after one of his first tours) was Agent Ziva David. The one who had been in charge of watching them when they first arrived was Agent Anthony DiNozzo. And the one who always seemed to be doing something on his computer was Agent Timothy McGee, though Agent DiNozzo never seemed to call him that. Instead he would call him 'Probie' or some variation of it. It seemed pretty childish to Alena.

For a moment, while she was in her own home standing in her own room while Sophie and Agent Gibbs down the hall in Sophie's room, she could almost fool herself into thinking that everything was normal. For the slightest moment, she almost believed that everything was as normal as it had been that morning before they left. But all thoughts of normality were destroyed the second she reminded herself of the situation she was currently in. She was not at her home like she had been this morning. Her father was not in the living room watching football or in his office making a phone call. He was dead, his body in Ducky's autopsy lab. Sophie wasn't outside playing with the neighbor's kids or in the playroom coloring or painting. She was in her room with some man that she barely even knew who was about to her away from the only life she had known. And she wasn't in the kitchen doing homework or listening to music. She was in her room, collecting whatever pieces of her life that would fit into a suitcase, about to leave for an unknown amount of time. Maybe forever.

Agent Gibbs had stayed inside with them while they collected their things. And he hadn't been kidding when he said they only had twenty minutes, because the second their time was up he forced them out, not giving them a moment longer.

When they arrived at his house Alena had immediately shut herself in the room she was given, not wanting to have to talk to him for a moment longer. She became more furious at him with each minute that passed, always able to think of another reason that she should be mad at him. She refused all food that he offered, even though she was actually pretty hungry from not eating since the morning.

She knew that, even though she had been sitting in the bed for hours, she wasn't going to fall asleep anytime soon. Although she wouldn't allow herself to let Sophie see her cry, the moment the young girl fell asleep the tears began to fall down her face. Even an hour later they still flowed steadily and no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't seem to calm herself. She couldn't seem to get her thoughts off of her father.

Suddenly she could hear footsteps coming down the hall towards the room she was in. She quickly started to wipe the tears that were falling down her face and stop the ones that were still coming from her eyes. Within a few moments, the door cracked open.

Gibbs, hearing the stifled sniffles coming from within the room, poked his head in. "Alena?" he called quietly. "You still awake?"

Alena allowed a moment to pass before answering, not trusting her voice not to give away that she had been crying. "Yes" she said quietly, not wanting to wake up Sophie. Hearing this, Gibbs stepped in and took a few steps closer to where she was sitting.

"You alright?" he asked, hearing the strain in her voice that was undoubtedly from crying. He could see her tearstained face through the dim reading light that was on above the bed.

"I'm fine." She snapped, her voice a little harsher than she had intended.

"Anything that you want to talk about?" he asked her.

"I said I'm fine." She insisted. Gibbs sighed at her stubbornness and was about to say something, but decided against it.

"Alright." He agreed. "See you in the morning." He lingered back a few more seconds before leaving the room and shutting the door softly. The door hadn't even shut completely before Alena's tears began to fall again. Holding them back, even for that short of a time, had been torture. But she knew that it was necessary.

She would not, could not, _ever_ let Agent Gibbs see her cry.

**Hello everyone! I hope you liked the chapter! Anyone see this week's episode? IT WAS AMAZING! I was freaking out the entire time. If you didn't see it, go watch it now! Remember to review and let me know what you think of this chapter!**


	5. A Not-So-Smooth Morning

**A Not-So-Smooth Morning**

Early the next morning Gibbs was downstairs in his kitchen , trying to look for something that the girls could eat for breakfast. He hadn't had time to buy any groceries since he decided they would stay with him, so he didn't have much that was very 'kid friendly'. Sophie was sitting at the table, swinging her legs from the chair. She was still wearing her pajamas and her stuffed rabbit was tucked tightly in her arms. She watched Gibbs intently, as if every one of his movements fascinated her. Finally he pulled out a box of Cheerios, figuring that it would have to do for the time being. He took a few bowls out of the cabinet and placed them on the table. He walked towards the fridge and was about to take out a container of milk when he heard a piercing scream coming from upstairs.

Without thinking, he bolted from the kitchen and ran up towards the room where Alena was still asleep. The screams continued, each one getting louder as he got closer. When he reached the room, he pushed open the door quickly. He saw Alena, laying in her bed , her body tossing back and forth wildly as she continued screaming. He crossed the room quickly until he was leaning down next to her.

"Alena! Alena wake up!" he said loudly as he shook her shoulders, attempting to wake her up. "Alena!" She sat up quickly, her breathing heavy and staggered and sweat covering her face. She looked around nervously, taking in her surroundings before she managed to slow her breathing slightly. Gibbs gave her a few more moments of silence to calm down before speaking.

"You were having a nightmare." He told her. She brought her hand to her forehead and brushed her hair away from her face slowly.

"Yeah, I figured." She said breathlessly. She looked around the room, her eyes landing on the empty bed across from her. "Where's Sophie?" she asked as she looked back at Gibbs, a hint of worry showing on her face.

"Downstairs." He told her. "She woke up about a half hour ago. She's fine." He added, knowing that is what she really wanted to know. Alena nodded slowly, processing this information and trying to get it to register with her still racing mind.

"Do you want a minute alone?" he asked her. She was only able to nod her head again. Gibbs left the room and shut the door halfway behind him. When he returned to the kitchen he was relieved to see Sophie still sitting at the table, acting as if nothing had happened. She looked up at him.

"Is Lena okay?" she asked, her head tilting slightly to the side.

"Yeah she's fine." He assured her. "Just had a nightmare." Sophie looked away from Gibbs and down at her swinging legs, nodding her head slowly.

"Yeah, she does that." She told him.

"What do you mean?" Gibbs asked her as he went to the still opened refrigerator and pulled out the milk. He sat down at the table and poured some into a bowl with some cereal and handed it to Sophie.

"At night." She told him as she pushed the cereal around in the bowl with her spoon. "She screams a lot. Sometimes she talks too."

"Since when?" Gibbs asked, making himself a bowl as well.

"Forever, I think." Sophie said with a shrug. "Daddy said that she started doing it when she was little, after he went to go fight in the war. When he came back it stopped for a little while. But then when Mommy died, it started getting bad again. Sometimes not even Daddy could get her to stop. Then he took Alena to a special doctor to fix her, so she wouldn't do it anymore. But Daddy told me that it didn't work, that it just made her angry. I remember one day Johnny had to come over and watch me because Daddy had to go out an find Alena 'cause she ran away when she was at the doctor's. They didn't come home until really late. Johnny told me that Alena was good at staying hidden when she didn't want to be found and that's why it took Daddy so long to bring her home. She didn't go back to the doctor after that." The girl had become completely consumed in her story that she had forgotten about the food that was in front of her and had stopped eating. Instead she looked at Gibbs the entire time she was speaking, making sure that he was listening to her.

Before he could respond to her, he heard soft footsteps enter the room. He saw Alena coming in slowly, still dressed in grey sweatpants and a purple tank top. Her hair was brushed smooth, but her eyes still looked like she was half asleep. He guessed that the nightmares hadn't allowed her much rest.

"Morning Alena!" Sophie said happily as she came over to her. Alena kissed her head softly before sitting next to her at the table. Gibbs slid her a bowl from across the table but she just shook her head.

"No thanks." She said, not looking up at him. "Not hungry."

"You have to eat something." He told her, remembering how she had refused to eat the day before as well.

"Maybe later" she mumbled, not in the mood to be told what to do.

"Alena…" he began, about to argue with her.

"Later." She repeated loudly, her voice final. The room was dead silent for a few long minutes. Finally, Gibbs spoke.

"You're both going to come back to NCIS today." He told them.

"But it's Friday." Sophie reminded him. "We have school." Gibbs sighed. He knew that they had school. But he didn't want them out of his sight, not quite yet.

"Yeah, I know," he said. "You are going to take the day off today. I'll make arrangements for next week if everything isn't settled by then."

"What kind of _arrangements_ do you have in mind?" Alena asked him.

"I will see what I can do about getting your school work brought to NCIS so you can study there. If this goes on for much longer, I will register you both for online school."

"No!" Alena shouted in protest. "No way. I'm not leaving school. I'm not going to spend all day everyday at NCIS! I have to go to school!"

"Well that isn't an option right now!" Gibbs said, his voice growing louder as well. "And you will do what I say and stop questioning me because I know what's going to keep you safe!" He was shouting by the time he finished the sentence.

Before even a second passed Alena stood up from the chair. "You're ruining everything!" she yelled at him before storming back to the bedroom. When she entered the room she made sure to slam the door as hard as possible, the noise reaching the entire house.

Gibbs slammed his fist against the table in frustration. He couldn't believe how difficult Alena was being. All he wanted to do was keep her and her sister safe and she was acting like he was holding them hostage. He didn't understand what her problem was. Sophie, who had been watching the argument with wide, worried eyes, spoke up, interrupting Gibbs' thoughts.

"Don't be mad at her Agent Gibbs." She said softly. "She didn't mean it. She's just sad, that's all. She gets angry when she's sad. And sometimes she yells. But she doesn't mean it. I know she didn't mean it." She looked at Gibbs with pleading eyes, hoping that he wouldn't be mad at her big sister. Gibbs sighed.

"I'm not mad." He said, though it wasn't completely true. He just didn't need the younger girl upset with him too. "Why don't you go up to the bedroom and get ready to go? And see if you can convince Alena to get ready too." He said. The girl nodded her head and skipped away from the table, her stuffed rabbit in her hands.

Gibbs stood up and began to clear the table of the uneaten bowls of cereal. About fifteen minutes later, he was sitting at the table again, reading the newspaper. Sophie came downstairs, now dressed in another long pink skirt and white t-shirt, her blonde hair pulled into tight pigtails. Surprisingly, she was pulling Alena's hand. Alena was ready too, wearing dark jeans and a black shirt with her favorite band's logo on the front. Her hair was down as always and she had on heavy black eyeliner. Gibbs tried to hide his surprise that Sophie was able to convince her to get ready so easily; he thought that he would have to threaten her to get out the door. "Ready to go?" he asked them as he stood up from the table. Sophie nodded her head excitedly but Alena didn't respond, her eyes only glaring at Gibbs angrily. He took that as a yes. They all left the house and got into the car. Alena was completely silent the whole time, only leaning her forehead lightly against the cool glass window as the world sped past.


	6. Old Habits Die Hard

**Old Habits Die Hard**

Gibbs, Alena, and Sophie had been at headquarters for almost an hour. All of the agents were typing silently at their desks, the quiet only broken with the occasional phone call. Gibbs was somewhere else in the building at the moment, but had made it _very_ clear that, with three agents now watching them, trying to sneak away would be futile. So the girls had sat in complete stillness the entire time, almost too afraid to make the slightest move. Finally Alena had enough; there was no way she could continue this for the next six hours. She stood up and walked over to McGee's desk (mostly because she feared him the least)

"Agent McGee?" she asked in the sweetest most innocent voice she could manage. "Do you think that I could maybe take Sophie downstairs so we can go visit Abby?" McGee looked around at the other Agents quickly, not wanting to make the decision on his own. He knew that if he gave her permission and something went wrong, he would never hear the end of it. He saw Tony shake his head furiously, obviously still remembering what had happened the day before. But, to be fair, nothing bad had happened and she had only been in Abby's lab the entire time. He ignored Tony for the moment, knowing that he wasn't exactly the most impartial judge for this situation. "Ziva?" McGee asked, deciding that her opinion was the one that he would listen to. She thought about it for a moment before shrugging her shoulders.

"I do not see any harm in it." she said to McGee. She then directed her focus onto Alena. "As long as you are sure that you are _only_ going to Abby's lab and no where else." Alena nodded her head quickly in agreement.

"I promise." She said before walking over to take Sophie's hand and walk towards the elevator. "Thanks Agent David!" she called over her shoulder. After the elevator delivered the girl's to the lowest floor, Alena raced down the hall, pulling Sophie behind her. She ran into the lab.

"Abby!" she called excitedly, trying to get her attention over the ridiculously loud music. Sophie pulled her hand away from Alena's grasp so she could cover her ears. Abby turned around, smiling when she saw the girls.

"Hey guys!" she called over the noise. She clicked the music off with a flourish, earning a giggle from Sophie. "What's up?" she asked them.

"Nothing," Alena answered with a shrug. "We were beyond bored upstairs so we decided to come see you. Are you busy?" Abby shook her head.

"Nope. I actually just finished up what I was working on." She told her. "So, how did your first night at Casa de Gibbs go? Did you get along? Of course you did. Isn't he just so nice? I knew you would love him. He just takes a little while to warm up to someone and then he is just great. I bet you guys are like best friends already. I told you everything would go-"

"Abby," Alena said, cutting off her rambling. She wondered how Abby was able to speak so long without taking a breath. She figured it must be an acquired skill. "To tell you the truth, it didn't go that great." She admitted. "We don't exactly get along." She dropped her gaze to the ground.

"What do you mean?" Abby asked in disbelief.

"We just don't see eye to eye." She said, not wanting to delve too deeply into the argument that they had had that morning. "I don't think that this living arrangement is going to work out for long." Abby sighed and wrapped her arms around Alena.

"Just give it some more time." She said. "I know Gibbs and he wants to get along with you, he really does. Will you give him another chance? Please?" she begged, holding onto her shoulders and looking into her eyes.

"I guess." Alena mumbled, not wanting to have to say no to Abby. Before she could respond though, Gibbs walked into the lab.

"You guess what?" he asked, having only heard that last part of the conversation.

"Nothing." Alena said quickly, looking away from him.

"What are you doing down here?" he asked the girls.

"They're just visiting me Gibbs." Abby said, not wanting him to get mad at them.

"Do the other agents know that you're here?" he asked, his gaze directed at Alena. She crossed her arms defensively.

"Of course they do. I'm not-" she stopped herself mid sentence, not wanting to fight with Gibbs so soon after their last argument, especially not in front of Abby. Gibbs ignored her last comment.

"I need you both to give me and Abby a few minutes to talk alone." He told them. "And you are to _stay in the building_" he enunciated every word, making sure that Alena understood that he was serious. She nodded her head and scooped Sophie into her arms. She muttered a quick "Bye Abby" before exiting her lab. Once they were both out of earshot, Gibbs turned back to Abby.

"What do you got for me Abbs?" he asked. Abby turned to face the one of her computer screens and motioned for Gibbs to do the same. She pulled a few graphics up on the monitor before beginning to explain them all.

"The bullet wound in Petty Officer Greene's forehead showed that the shot came from straight ahead, not from an angle. So that means that the shooter wasn't on the property, but somewhere across the street."

"Or from the street." Gibbs pointed out. "It could have been a drive by."

"Not likely." Abby said. "The bullet wound was so precisely in the middle of his forehead that it would be almost impossible to do it while moving. Even from where I estimate the shot came from, it would have to have been done by someone with a lot of practice."

"And where do you think it came from Abbs?" he asked. Abby started typing into her computer, pulling up a graphic of the café where Daniel Greene had been shot. Zooming out the entire street and the surrounding shops became visible. She pointed to an old, abandoned building directly across from the café.

"There." She said. "It was an office building but it has been empty for almost three years now. If all of my calculations are correct, the shot should have been fired from somewhere on that property." Gibbs nodded, knowing that he got the information that he had needed. He kissed Abby on the cheek and put a Café-Pow that he had been holding on the table.

"Nice works Abbs." He said as he walked out of the lab.

… … … … … … … … … … …

Later that evening Alena and Sophie were back in the bullpen. Gibbs had been talking to Abby and Ducky all day, gathering as much information as possible on the case. He had plans to take his team to the sight where Abby estimated the shot was fired from the next day, as well as gather witness reports. He knew it would be a long day and he wasn't looking forward to it.

Sophie and Alena had been talking with the other agents all day. Alena found that she actually got along with Ziva and didn't mind McGee, though Tony still didn't seem to like her very much. She was a bit annoyed with this at first, after all it had been an entire day. He should just move on. But after a while it didn't bother her. But she actually thought she and Ziva had the potential to be friends. It had started when she learned that they both shared the same interest and knowledge of foreign language.

Alena had been on a laptop that McGee let her use for the day. She was determined to not miss out on any school lessons, despite Gibbs keeping her out for the day. She had decided to find out what her classes had worked on that day from the school's website. She was writing an essay for her French class when Ziva peered over at her screen.

"You speak French?" she asked, noticing that the contents of the essay showed an advanced level of knowledge in the language. Alena nodded her head in response.

"And a few others." She said without looking up from the screen.

"Such as?" Ziva asked, curious as to how many languages a girl as young as her could know.

"Spanish, Russian, Italian," she listed "and I started studying Hebrew a few months ago. But French is my strongest, I think because it is the only one that I take in school. The rest I leaned from my father, Johnny, or I taught myself."

"Impressive." Ziva said. "Any reason that you leaned them?"

"Not really. Languages have just always interested me. And with my dad and his best friend knowing so many, it was easy to find people to teach me." She let out a quiet, sad sigh. "My dad was teaching me Hebrew, so I don't think I will get to learn anymore of it."

"I could teach you." Ziva offered.

"Really?" Alena asked hopefully.

"Of course. I am sure I could convince Gibbs to let me give you lessons." Alena's face lit up in excitement.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she said. "You're the best Ziva!"

Just then, Gibbs walked into the bullpen carrying a folder full of papers.

"You girls ready to go?" he asked Alena and Sophie. Alena stood up immediately, more than happy to leave the building, but her excitement quickly faltered when she remembered that she would just be returning to Gibbs' home and not her own. She said goodbye to Ziva and the other agents before following Gibbs into the elevator, leading Sophie by the hand. When they stepped outside, she realized how beautiful the weather was. It was unseasonably warm for November and it was still light out. The feeling of the air instantly brought back them memory of evening walks with her dad and Sophie whenever the weather was good.

"Agent Gibbs?" she said a few minutes after climbing into the passenger seat of the car.

"Yeah?" Gibbs asked.

"Do you think that I could take a short walk when we get home? It's just so nice out and it doesn't look like its going to get dark for a little while longer. I used to love-"

"No." Gibbs said, cutting her off mid sentence.

"W-What?" Alena asked.

"Absolutely not." He repeated. "There's no way that I'm letting you go out on a walk by yourself. Especially not when it's about to get dark."

"But you don't understand," Alena said, trying to reason with him. "I'll only be a couple of minutes. I just want to walk around the block and then I'll come back. It's something that our family used to do all of the time and I would really just-"

"Alena, I said no." Gibbs said. "I'm sorry. Maybe another time one of my agents can go with you but for now-" He didn't get to finish his sentence because at that moment he pulled into the drive way and Alena got out of the car, not wanting to listen to the rest of what he had to say. She stormed into the house and up to the bedroom. She slammed the door shut, even though no one was even in the house yet to hear it.

Gibbs sighed and looked down wearily at Sophie. "Did she act like this with your dad?" He asked her. Sophie merely shook her head and jumped out of the car.

… … … … …. …. …. … … … …

Almost two hours later Gibbs climbed the stairs that led to the girl's bedroom. He was carrying a plate of food for Alena, who hadn't come down for dinner. He was prepared to give her no options about eating this meal; he wouldn't have her go another full day without eating anything. Whether it was out of grief or defiance, enough was enough. He wasn't going to let her put her health at risk to prove a point.

"Alena?" he called, knocking on the closed door. He listened for a minute, but no response came. "Alena!" he called, louder this time. Still, no response. He turned the handle and went into the room. He expected to see Alena laying on the bed or sitting at the desk, but he didn't see either.

Instead he saw an empty room and a wide open window.


	7. Time to Think

**Time to Think**

Alena paced in the bedroom, fighting back angry tears. She was so mad she could hardly keep her thoughts straight. Who did this Agent Gibbs think he was? Did he think that he could just storm into her life, take away her home, friends, and freedom? All she had wanted was one thing, _one thing_. How much harm could a ten minute walk do? She had only wanted the time to relive her normal life. A short amount of time to mourn not only the loss of her father, but everything she now had to leave behind.

She hadn't been given even a moment by herself for two days to be alone with the thoughts of her dad. An unfamiliar bedroom with her sister right next to her and a man she hardly even knew right down the hall did not count as an acceptable grieving place. They weren't even allowed to give her father a funeral until the case was closed and they were done gathering evidence from his body. She wasn't even allowed that.

She wanted time to think about how she was going to have to alter her life to take care of Sophie. Even though, technically, she wasn't her guardian she still knew in her heart that it was her responsibility to make sure that she was safe and got as close to a normal childhood as possible. If she could give her little sister that, no matter what the cost was to her, she would do whatever it took to do it.

But of course, she couldn't have the time to think about _any_ of that, simply because Agent Gibbs didn't trust her enough to be on her own for just a couple of minutes.

_No._

So much had been taken away from her in mere hours. Her freedom would not be one of them. She would not give up her ability to make her own decisions. She was going to take the time she needed by herself, whether he wanted her to or not.

She glanced towards the room door. She knew she would never be able to get past Agent Gibbs to get out the front door. Instead, she turned her focus to the only other exit in the room. The window. She walked over and looked out it and down to the ground. She was on the second story, but she had taken bigger falls before. Besides, this wouldn't even be a fall. She knew what she was doing.

She opened the window as far as it would go before sticking one of her legs out of it. She glanced towards the door one more time to be certain that no one was about to come in. When she saw no one, she continued and pulled the rest of her lower body out. She held onto the side of the window and let her body dangle down as far as it would go before releasing her grasp and falling towards the ground.

There was a quick moment of slight pain as she landed, but nothing too serious. She looked towards the house quickly before running in the opposite direction as fast as she could

… … … … … … … … …

"Ziva" Gibbs barked into his cell phone. "I need you, McGee, and DiNozzo here _now_. Alena ran off and we need to find her before someone else does."

"I'm on my way." Ziva said on the other side of the conversation. "How long has she been gone?"

"Over an hour, maybe more." He told her. "I have no idea how far she could have gotten by now. I called Abby to come over and watch Sophie, but I have to stay until she gets here. Just search anywhere around my neighborhood, if you don't find her here look further. I don't care what it takes, just get her back!" he shouted before snapping his phone shut. Just then there was a knock at the door. He ran to open it, letting in Abby.

"Thank you Abbs, I didn't know who else to get to watch her." He said as he pulled on his jacket. He lowered his voice. "Keep her calm and don't let her get afraid. The last thing I need right now is a kid in hysterics. If she asks, just tell her I'll be back soon." He said before running out of the house.

"Find her Gibbs!" Abby yelled out the door as he jumped into his car. He pulled out his phone as he drove. He listened to the ring for a few minutes before the person on the other end picked up.

"DiNozzo" he began, ready to explain the situation again.

… … … … … … … … …

In the beginning, she couldn't have felt more liberated and free. She had run for miles, as far as she could go without tiring. When she had gotten far enough away, she decided to go through a park that was nearby.

But only about a half hour after she had left, the clear sky had turned into dark clouds and the beautiful air turned into freezing, pouring rain. But she didn't turn back; no way was she turning back yet. She found a bench in the now deserted park and sat down.

She tried using her time to think over everything she had originally intended to, but found that she couldn't bring her mind to anything productive. Instead, her thoughts were all of her father. Her brave, perfect father who she would never see again. That thought alone brought her to tears, though the rain made it impossible to tell.

More than two hours had passed since she left Agent Gibbs' home, but it hadn't felt like anytime at all. Her eyes were closed lightly and her head was rested in her hands, though she was no where near sleeping.

"Enjoying yourself?" a voice asked from beside her. She didn't even have to open her eyes to know who the voice belonged to, so she didn't.

"Obviously." She shot, her first instinct to be sarcastic.

"What the hell were you thinking?" he demanded. "Do you have any idea what could have happened to you? How worried everyone is about you? You put yourself and everyone else in danger!"

"I'm sorry, okay?!" she said loudly, turning away from him and putting her face in her hands.

Gibbs sighed and sat down beside her on the bench. He silently pulled his jacket off and wrapped it around her shoulders, shielding her only somewhat from the downpour.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked after a few full minutes of silence.

"My dad." She answered, not seeing the point in lying to him. He nodded his head.

"What about him?" he asked.

"Right now?" she asked. "His laugh. And his smile. How when I was younger and it would rain, we would build pillow forts in the living room. And sometimes we would just jump in puddles and dance on the sidewalks until we were too cold and had to go inside. He hated thunder though, which I found strange because I always loved it. I never understood why he didn't like the noise, but now I guess I do." She looked towards the ground, realizing how similar thunder could sound to close gunshot. "But he never acted afraid of it. He never acted afraid of anything. He was the bravest person I knew." She had to stop herself from talking; she didn't trust herself to be able to continue without crying. She still intended to keep the promise she made to herself that she would never let him see her cry.

"Do you miss him?" Gibbs asked after a few moments of quiet. Alena was only able to nod her head slowly. Even then, she couldn't stop the tears that had filled her eyes from spilling down her face. She was suddenly thankful for the rain; hopefully it was disguising the tears.

"Yeah" she answered quietly. "I do." He didn't have to see her face, he knew just by her voice that she was crying.

"I know that everything seems like it's screwed up right now. And it feels like noting can ever go back to normal. And it's true, it won't be the same. But that doesn't mean things won't get better. You can still be happy. You just have to let yourself." He said. "Do you think you can do that?" She thought it over for a moment.

"I want to." She said at last. "I really do. But I just don't see how I can with everything so different than it was before. There isn't one piece of normality in my life anymore." Gibbs sighed, realizing how right she was. He had been so quick to take her and Sophie away from every aspect of their old life out of fear that it would put them in danger.

"Maybe we can work on that" he offered.

"Agent Gibbs, I know you think that it isn't safe for me, but I really want to go to school. _My_ school, not just some online class in the NCIS building. Please?" she asked. Gibbs thought for a moment before nodding his head.

"We'll work something out." He agreed. He stood up from the bench. "Come on, let's get out of the rain." He said. She hesitated for a second, looking up at Gibbs, before standing up and walking away with him to his car.

She hadn't realized how cold she was and how completely soaked her clothes were. Gibbs turned up the heat as far as it could go, noticing how badly she was shivering. Once they started driving he pulled out his cell phone. Alena could hear the voice of the other person answering.

"DiNozzo, I found her." He stayed silent, allowing Tony to talk. "At a park about seven miles from my house….Yes I know it's raining… Let Ziva and McGee know… Thank you DiNozzo" he flipped the phone shut, ending the conversation.

"You had the other agents looking too?" she asked in disbelief. "You really shouldn't have done that."

"I had to call them." He told her. "Don't you understand that you aren't always as safe as you think you are? There are dangerous people out there."

"There have always been dangerous people and there always will be." She said. "That's never stopped me before."

"Well, at least for now, will you please just do what me and the agents tell you? I will try not to be unreasonable, but sometimes I won't have a choice. Do you understand?" he asked her.

She sighed but nodded her head. "Yeah, I do." She said reluctantly. At that moment they pulled into the driveway of Gibbs' house. They got out of the car and walked in the door. Before the door was even shut behind them, Alena felt a pair of arms wrap around her.

"Thank god you're okay!" Abby said before pulling away. "Don't you know how much you scared us?" she demanded. "You can never _ever_ do that to us again!"

"I'm sorry Abby." Alena said sincerely. "I didn't mean to make you worry." Abby pulled her into another tight hug and this time Alena wrapped her arms around her.

After they pulled away Alena glanced past Abby and into the living room.

"Where's Sophie?" she asked.

"In bed. She fell asleep on the couch while we were waiting and I brought her to your room." Abby told her.

"Thank you Abbs." Gibbs said, speaking for the first time since they had arrived home. He kissed her forehead. "For everything. Go get some rest." She nodded and kissed Alena's cheek before leaving the house.

"Go change into some dry clothes and come back down here." Gibbs said, turning to face Alena. She nodded her head, wondering why he would want her to come back. She had assumed that he would just want her to go to bed when they got back; after all it had to be almost one in the morning. But she didn't question him and ran upstairs to where her clothes were and pulled out some sweatpants and a t shirt and went back to where Gibbs was waiting. He motioned for her to follow him and together they walked down to the basement of the house.

The first thing that Alena saw was the massive boat , or rather what looked to be the start of a boat but was only planks of wood in the shape of the bottom of one. But when she looked closer around the room, she saw many tools scattered on work benches and a few smaller wood products. The air smelled distinctly of sawdust and alcohol. The floor was covered in a thick layer of wood shavings, dust, and the packaging for tools and nails.

As she turned around to ask Gibbs what she was doing down there, he placed a bucket with a small hand broom and a sponge in it, and another bucket filled halfway up with water on the ground. She looked at him in disbelief, wondering if he was actually going to make her do what she was thinking.

"What?" he asked. "You didn't think that I was going to just let you run away and not give you any punishment, did you?" he asked with the slightest smirk.

"You're _kidding_, right?" she asked him, looking around the large room.

"Afraid not." He said, shaking his head. She let out a huff of breath and put her hands on her hips. She was about to argue but knew that it would be useless.

"Fine." She mumbled quietly as she bent over to pick up the broom to begin sweeping the dust off of the ground. Gibbs just smiled slightly and walked back up the stairs, leaving her to finish the work.

**I know that a lot of stories with Gibbs and children on this site put in Gibbs hitting the kid when they do something wrong, but I honestly could never imagine Gibbs doing that. Like one of you pointed out in a review, he has seen so many cases of child abuse that I doubt he would ever lay a hand on a child. The review also pointed out that he would probably be much more creative with his punishments, which I agree with completely :)**

**I'm sorry about this update being a few days late, but I was grounded :\ I am not sure if there will be an update this week either, but it depends on how busy I am. I hope you all have an amazing holiday and thanks for reading!**


	8. Pieces

**Pieces**

Monday morning, Alena woke up early to get ready. She had never thought she would actually be excited to go to school, but that day she didn't think she could get there fast enough. The weekend had dragged by slower than he had thought possible. Sure, she had managed to go two days without getting into any _serious_ arguments with Gibbs (he had told her and Sophie that they could drop the 'agent' part and just call him by his last name from now on) but she still couldn't imagine them ever being very close, or even friends.

The weekend had consisted of the agents sitting at their computers silently, hardly ever looking up from the screens. When she had asked them what they were doing, they told her that they were waiting for warrants to go through.

Boring.

So she had spent most of the time in Abby's Lab with Sophie. She couldn't believe how likable Abby was; it was almost no effort at all to be her friend. And it was almost as easy to talk with Ducky, though he and Jimmy were too busy to talk most of the time. But she enjoyed listening to Ducky's seemingly endless amount of stories from when he was younger, though no one else seemed to like them as much as she did.

The highlight of the weekend, though, had been the Hebrew lesson Ziva had given her Saturday afternoon. Gibbs had agreed to the lessons under the conditions that they happened inside the building and it didn't interfere with Ziva's work. Alena was so happy to be able to lean the language from a fluent speaker (her dad hadn't been completely fluent when he was teaching her) and Ziva was impressed with how quickly she could learn.

Sophie would be staying with Gibbs while Alena was at school. Sophie hadn't seemed nearly as upset about missing school as Alena had been; in her eyes, NCIS was the coolest place ever.

Alena came down the stairs, dressed in her usual dark jeans and t-shirt. "Morning Gibbs" she said, grabbing an apple from the table.

"You all set to go?" Gibbs asked her. She nodded and picked up her backpack full of books that they had gotten from her house the night before.

They went to the car and drove for about ten minutes before reaching the high school Alena attended. But instead of pulling into the lot to let her out, he pulled over to the side of the road and turned to look at her.

"You have your cell phone, right?" he asked.

"Of course," she said, pulling it out of her pocket and waving it in the air before putting in away.

"Good. I will be here at 2:30 to pick you up and bring you back to headquarters with me." He paused and let out a sigh. "I should warn you, your dad's murder has been all over the new this weekend. People are going to ask questions. Some you won't know the answers to, and some you just won't want to explain. Are you sure you want to do this?" She heisted a few seconds before nodding her head in confirmation.

"I'm sure," she said, obviously trying to sound confident. "I'll be fine Gibbs." She opened the car door. "Thanks for the ride."

"Remember!" he called after her. "2:30 _exactly_!" She waved her hand dismissively, showing that she heard him, and jogged off towards the school building.

**... … … … … … … …**

Less than an hour after dropping Alena off at school, Gibbs was outside U Café taking witness reports from the morning Daniel Greene was murdered. Somewhere on the property, Tony, Ziva, and McGee were doing the same.

The manager pointed him towards a waitress in her early twenties who was working at the counter. He said that she had been working that morning and might be able to tell him something. Gibbs crossed the room, sitting at the counter in front of the waitress.

"Can I get you anything?" she asked him, raising up her notepad.

"No, but I need you to answer some questions for me." He took his badge out of his pocket, showing it to her. She nodded her head quickly, understanding, and walked out from behind the counter.

"We can sit over here." She said, motioning towards an empty table, where they sat down on either side. "What can I do for you…"

"Agent Gibbs" he told her. She nodded.

"I would like to hear your account on what happened the day Petty Officer Daniel Greene was murdered here. You do remember it, right?" he asked her.

"Of course I do," she said. She shook her head slowly. "Such a shame, seemed like such a nice man. He had two girls with him, didn't he? One was really young, looked like she was only seven or eight, and the other was a teenager, right?"

"Yes, his daughters Sophie and Alena. Seven and fifteen years old." He told her.

"That sounds right" she said with a nod. "Well I don't know how much I can tell you, Agent Gibbs. It was a pretty crowded morning. They ate and left within an hour, the girls looked like they were going to school afterwards. Well, they left the table and a few seconds later I hear a gunshot. I looked over and saw him on the ground, dead. His two girls were standing a few feet away, holding on to each other." She shook her head again. "Poor kids, they were terrified. Are they alright?" she asked him.

Gibbs nodded his head. "They're both doing well." He assured her. "Is there anything else that you can tell me? Did you see anything unusual? Anything at all that could point us in the right direction?"

"Nothing, I'm afraid." She said. "I was so busy with the other customers that I wasn't paying very close attention to individuals." Gibbs sighed and stood up.

"Thank you for your time. If you remember anything, give us a call." He said, handing her his card from his pocket. He walked over to the van, where the other agents were waiting.

"Anything?" he asked hopefully.

"All witness' claim they didn't notice anything until the gunshot was heard, though no one saw the gun or shooter." Ziva told him.

"The few people we spoke to that were outside the café when it happened all say they think that it came from across the street." McGee said.

"The office building." Gibbs stated, knowing that is what Abby had told him before. "I want those search warrants through by tomorrow so we can see if we can find anything there. Let's go." At that, the team went into the cars and began back to headquarters.

**... … … … … … … …**

Gibbs stopped in the doorway of Abby's lab, watching the girls inside. He had left Sophie with Abby while he was gone, knowing that there was no way he could take her with him safely. Abby had happily agreed, excited at the chance to spend time with her.

Abby was showing Sophie how to play with Burt, causing Sophie to giggle loudly. Gibbs smiled softly at the sight before stepping in further so they would see him.

"Oh, hi Gibbs!" Abby called, not moving from Sophie.

"Hi Gibbs!" Sophie mimicked. Abby stood up from where she had been kneeling and walked over to him. Sophie followed after her, not falling a step behind. He noticed that her pigtails now exactly matched Abby's.

"Everything go okay?" he asked, though he was almost certain of the answer.

"Everything was perfect!" Abby chirped.

"Perfect!" Sophie repeated. It seemed Sophie was picking up Abby's habits quickly. The thought made him smile.

"Great" he said. "I think it's about time to go then. But Abby, I did want to let you know that-" before he could finish his cell phone rang in his pocket. He pulled it out and brought it to his ear. "Gibbs" he said quickly.

"Okay, good" a shaky, unfamiliar voice answered. The voice sounded female and very young, like a child. "Um, I think you need to come to the school now." she said uncertainly. "It's Alena. She might be in trouble." Without waiting to hear the rest, Gibbs snapped the phone shut and ran out of the lab and out towards his car.


	9. Same Soul

**Same Soul**

Gibbs searched frantically for signs of anything wrong as he pulled into the parking lot of the high school. At first he saw nothing, but an unfamiliar teenage girl waving her arms at him got his attention. He jumped out of the car and ran over to her.

"Where's Alena?" he asked before he had even stopped running.

"Come with me." She said quickly, motioning for him to follow her. He could tell by her voice that she was the one who had called his cell phone. They ran to the side of the school, where the first thing he noticed was a huge group of kids standing in a crowd. They were all shouting incomprehensibly. The girl pointed to the mass.

"There" she said, her voice barely audible over the shouting. He ran over and began pulling kids aside, trying to get to the center where he was almost positive he would find Alena.

At the sight of an adult, the crowd started to scatter. There was only a handful left, and four in the middle of them all. He recognized Alena immediately, but had never seen the other three that seemed to be opposing her. As he pushed through the remaining kids, he had to watch as one of the boys fighting against Alena hit her in the face. She stumbled back for a moment, but hardly lost a step before kicking him hard in the stomach, causing him to fall to the ground. She was about to hit one of the others when Gibbs grabbed her arm.

She spun her head around, ready to bring another person into the fight, when she saw him. Her eyes grew wide before she turned her face back around towards the others. She pulled against Gibbs' grip, trying to get away from him and back towards the girl she had been about to hit, but it was useless. She yelled in frustration and continued pulling, but he dragged her away.

"Let me go!" she yelled at him.

"What the hell are you doing?" he demanded loudly. She glared at him more fiercely than he had seen her before. There was already a deep, dark bruise forming around her left eye and on the bridge of her nose, and her bottom lip was split, blood slowly trickling from it. Looking back to where she had just been standing, he watched as the remaining kids, including the ones she had been fighting, ran off. When she saw this she yelled again, but this time her voice cracked on the end. He could feel her body shaking in anger and frustration.

She could feel the hot tears sting her eyes and threatening to pour down her face. She tried to stop herself, but realized that she didn't care anymore, and let them fall.

"I could have taken them!" she shouted, not sure if she was trying to convince Gibbs or herself. "If you hadn't gotten in the way I could have-"

"Alena, stop it!" Gibbs yelled.

"Just let me go!" she demanded, trying to release her arm from his grasp again. He considered releasing her wrist that he was holding, but decided that she needed to calm down first. Her whole body was shaking now in pure anger.

"Now can you tell me what happened?" he asked, his voice only slight calmer than before.

"Why?" she asked. "It's not like you actually care! You just want to know so you can put it in some kind of document profiling me or something! That's all I am to you. Me and Sophie, we're just some legal problem that needs to be settled before you can release us to the state so they can do whatever the hell they want with us! You just want us close by so we can get your case solved faster and you can go back to your normal life. Well guess what? After this, we have no normal life! _This_ is normal now! You can go back to your quiet house and wooden boat project as soon as this is over. But what about us? I bet in a few weeks you won't be able to remember our names, never mind care about what ended up happening to us" she spat harshly at him.

For a few minutes, Gibbs said nothing. Only staying silent and letting her finish her rant. He wanted to outright disagree with her. Tell her that he wasn't going to just let her and Sophie go once the case was over. Tell her that he did care what happened to them and that he wanted more than anything to find a good life for them. Tell her that he didn't think that he wouldn't ever be able to forget them. And he never wanted to.

"We're not so different, you know." He said at last, once her sobs had silenced enough for her to hear him. She looked up at him, the slightest look of confusion peeking through her expression of temporary madness. "We both go through life, angry at the world over something that we couldn't control. But we feel like, somehow, we could have stopped it. Could have saved that person we loved. If only we had been able to move a second quicker, maybe they would still be here."

"How do you know?" she asked him, her voice volumes quieter than it had been only minutes before. He took a deep breath.

"My wife and daughter were killed a little over twenty years ago." He told her. "And there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about them or wish that I could have traded my life for theirs. But it's too late to change anything and I had to learn to accept that. And now you do too."

"How?" she asked in a shaky voice.

"I won't lie, it isn't easy. But you have to stop putting your energy into resentment and anger, and start focusing on loving and caring about the people who are still here. I have my team now; they are the people who I can care about. And you have Sophie. She still needs you more than ever."

Alena was silent as she listened to him, knowing that he was right. "I'm sorry Gibbs." She said quietly, her tears slowing. He only nodded his head, knowing there was nothing left for him to say.

"Come on," he said, putting his hand gently on her back. "let's go."


	10. Fixing Some Mistakes

**It's been such a long time since I updated!**

**Okay, maybe 'a long time' is an understatement, considering I haven't updated since January… But I'm back now! The reason I haven't updated is because my computer broke and I just got a new one last week. So now that I have a working computer I'm pretty sure that I'm back for a while which means semi-consistent updates! (I say semi-consistent because, knowing me, something will always come up that prevents me from updating on time) So, onto the chapter! I hope you all like it and make sure to read the A/N at the bottom for some announcements!**

**Fixing Some Mistakes **

"Hey, Duck?" Gibbs called as he walked into autopsy, Alena at his side. "You in here?"

"Of course Jethro," Ducky said as he came out from around the corner, coming into view. "It isn't often that I _leave_," he said pleasantly. "Oh dear," he exclaimed worriedly, looking at Alena. "Are you alright?"

Alena gave a sheepish half smile. She knew that she looked like a mess. Her face was crusted in dried blood from her nose and the cuts on her face, she had a bruise around her left eye and on the bridge of her nose, and her bottom lip was split and still bleeding. "I'm fine," she said with a shrug. "Just a little scrapped up I guess."

"I should say so," Ducky said as he pulled her gently by the arm over to the sink.

"Do you think you could fix her up and make sure it's nothing serious?" Gibbs asked his friend.

"Of course," he answered, already using a wet towel to wipe some of the blood from the girl's face. Alena winced quietly when he pressed down near her bruises, but tried her best to stay still and silent.

"Thanks Duck," Gibbs said. "I have some business to take care of upstairs, just let me know when you're done." And with that, the agent left the room, leaving only the two.

Ducky finished wiping away most of the blood from Alena's face and began examining for any injuries. "Is it broken?" Alena asked him as he pressed around her nose. She had never had a broken nose before, but it hurt so much that she feared the worst.

"I do not believe so," the man said. "Most likely it is just severely bruised." He gave a soft smile. "You got lucky this time." He examined for a few more seconds before backing away slightly. "My dear, what on earth happened to you?" he asked her. She let out a sigh and rocked back and forth on her heels.

"I just had a little, um…disagreement, with some other students," she said vaguely. "Nothing to worry about."

"And what was this 'disagreement' about, may I ask?" Ducky inquired.

"Nothing," she muttered, dropping her gaze to the floor.

"It wouldn't have something to do with your father, would it?" he questioned. Alena looked back up at him. She hesitated for a moment before nodding reluctantly.

"I guess," she mumbled.

"Care to elaborate?"

"I don't know," she said as she crossed her arms. "It was just some kids that I've always had a problem with that heard about my dad's death on the news kept bugging me about it. And when they heard that the case was still open, that they hadn't found the killer, they said that I must have had something to do with it. They said that I've been so messed up since my mom died that I probably snapped." Her voice had begun to raise but she quickly caught herself and returned it to normal. She knew that Ducky, however good his intentions were, was a highly trained psychoanalyst. She had no doubt that, even now, he was analyzing her and she had no intention of doing something that would cause him to think something was wrong with her.

She took a deep breath and continued quietly. "I couldn't just let them say those things. There was no way I would let them talk about me and my dad like that."

"Oh, I don't blame you for wanting to make them stop," Ducky said sympathetically. "But, perhaps the situation could have been handled in another way? If you had just told an adult, even Gibbs, the matter could have been settled without-"

"I can handle my own problems! I don't need Gibbs 'fixing' everything for me," she interrupted loudly. She quickly covered her mouth and shook her head, not believing that she had just yelled at him. "Ducky, I'm so sorry. I-I didn't mean to-"

"It's quite alright my dear," Ducky said. "I understand you are upset at the moment."

"That's no excuse. I guess I've been letting my temper get the best of me," she admitted. "And, though I don't _at all_ regret hitting those kids for what they said, I'm going to try to control my temper a little more."

Ducky smiled at her. "You know, you are quite beyond you years. Most children your age refuse to find fault in themselves and here you are admitting your faults and promising to improve on them. I am very proud of you, and I know Gibbs is as well." Alena couldn't help but smile at this.

"Thank you Ducky," she said as she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him lightly.

**I know, this was a VERY short chapter, but I have to put in a few fillers before I get to the ending of this story. Don't worry, a few more exciting things are going to come up soon, but for now things might be a little slow. I'll also try to get more scenes with Sophie in because I feel like I haven't added her in for a while. **

**SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT! I am looking for a cover picture for this story, so if any of you have some photo shopping skills and want to make a picture for this story, send it to me! **

**As always, thank you so much for reading and please review!**


	11. Almost Perfect

**Well hello everyone! I decided to update sorta kinda quickly for you because of how long it took me to update last time. Hmmm, I don't have much of an introduction for this chapter… So I hope you like it!**

**Almost Perfect**

Gibbs couldn't help but smile as he watched the girls on the playground from a bench. Alena was pushing Sophie on a swing, both of them smiling and laughing. It was late evening and the sun was just starting to set, casting a pink and orange sky over them. The weather the past couple days had been warm, but at the moment it was just cool enough to keep him from being uncomfortable. He had remembered that there was a playground not too far from his house earlier that day and had decided that it would be good for Sophie to get out and be a normal kid. When he had mentioned it at dinner a few hours earlier Alena had piped in asking if she could go too. He of course had said yes, knowing that Alena deserved the chance to act like a normal big sister as much as Sophie deserved to be a normal kid.

He couldn't have been happier about the way things had been going with the girls, particularly Alena. It had been almost two weeks since her fight at school and, for the most part, there had been no further incidents. Sure, the two of them had the occasional argument, but it was never serious or lasted very long and in the end they always made up.

He had also started taking the time to learn more about the girls as people. Sophie, he had found out, had been taking ballet lessons since she was three. He made a note to himself to try to get her back to lessons once everything with the case started settling down.

He had also learned that Alena loved music. He had found out when she asked him if they could go back to her old house and pick up her guitar. He had sent Tony to get it and that night, when he walked by her bedroom, he heard her playing and singing softly to herself. And she was good. He didn't know why hearing her play, and play well, made him feel proud.

And as he looked back over at the girls, laughing and enjoying themselves, he wondered if maybe this was what it would be like to watch his own children play. Sure, he had taken Kelly to the park plenty of times, but it was so long ago and he had never gotten to spend the time with her that he had been able to spend with Alena and Sophie. He had gotten to see Kelly when she was Sophie's age, but he had always wondered what she would have been like if she had lived to be Alena's age. He hoped that she would have been as smart, caring, and strong as Alena was.

And in that moment, he realized that there was no way he could let the girls go after the case was over. He had missed his chance to see Kelly grow up; he was not going to miss it with Alena and Sophie. But he knew he had promised Alena and Jonathan Winters that they would go to him after the case was over. It was what their father had wanted and it was what Jonathan wanted too. As much as he wanted to, he just didn't know if he would be able to keep them.

Suddenly his phone rang, bringing him out of his thoughts and back into reality. The screen flashed Tony's name. He flipped it open and brought it to his ear. "DiNozzo," he answered.

"Boss, we have some news," he said. "We got an anonymous call from a man who says he had information about Officer Greene's case. He wants us to meet him at his home to tell us what he knows."

"You have the address, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked.

"Yeah, the guy gave it to us over the phone."

"Then I assume you're on your way?"

"Well, not exactly," Tony said. "The guy asked for you in particular. He said that he wants Gibbs and all his agents to be there for what he has to say. Whatever it is, I guess it's important."

"Yeah, it seems like it is," Gibbs said. He looked back over to the girls who were now on the monkey bars, Alena standing under Sophie as she helped her across. "Text me the address and have Abby come over my place to watch the girls. I'll drop them off and meet you McGee and Ziva at the address as soon as I can."

"On it boss," Tony said before hanging up. Gibbs sighed and shut his phone. He didn't like having to bring the girls away from their fun and back into the world of chaos, but he wanted this case over as soon as possible. He hoped that whatever this guy had to say would lead to the case being solved.

"Come on girls," he called. "Time to go."

… … … … … …

"My god DiNozzo, where the hell am I?" Gibbs barked into his phone. He had been driving around for more than an hour trying to find the address that Tony had sent him but had only managed to get sent through a mess of back roads and dead ends. It was completely dark out, which made the task even harder. He was somewhere on a dirt road surrounded by a lot of trees.

"I don't know boss, Ziva McGee and I are lost too." Tony said. "We entered the address into a GPS and it just keeps taking us in circles. Every time it says that we are getting close it sends us in a different direction."

"I don't have time for this DiNozzo," Gibbs said, losing his patience. "Just find out where this house is and do it fast!" He snapped the phone shut and sighed. This was about the last thing he wanted to be doing. It was getting late and he was hoping to be able to see the girls before they went to sleep, but it didn't look like that was going to happen. He was about to call Abby to check up on them when his phone rang. Abby's name appeared.

"What's up Abbs?" he asked her. For a moment he could only hear heavy breathing and what sounded like sobs being choked down.

"Gibbs," Abby said, her voice frantic. "They're gone."

**Thoughts? What do you think is going on? Remember to review!**

**Also, just a reminder that I am looking for a photo for this story so if you are interested in using your photography and/or photo shopping skills, PM me and I'll let you know how to send it to me. I will give credit to whoever's picture I choose!**

**I love you all!**


	12. Gone

**Yay for quick updates! This is where things start picking up people! I will probably be updating** **pretty quickly for the next few chapters because I like writing this so much! Anyways, this chapter has some minor swearing. Nothing too bad, just more than I usually put in. I hope you like it and please remember to review!**

**Gone**

Gibbs pulled into the driveway of his house so fast that he almost missed it entirely. He ran out of his car and into the house where Abby was waiting, tears falling down her face.

"I-I don't know how it happened," she said when she saw him. "Alena went upstairs to put Sophie to bed and a few minutes later I heard her screams and crashes. I ran upstairs and the window was open and they were gone."

Gibbs ran up the stairs, wanting to see the room that they were taken out of. Sure enough, the window was wide open. Everything in the room showed signs of a struggle. A lamp was knocked over, the blankets that were supposed to be on Sophie's bed were on the ground in a messy heap, the desk chair was on its side, and there were books from the shelf all over the ground. He didn't see any blood but he knew that that didn't mean no one was hurt.

If whoever did this hurt his girls…

But he couldn't focus on revenge quite yet. He knew he had to remain focused on finding any hints to where they might be and who could have done this.

"Oh god, how could I have let this happen? This is all my fault…" Abby muttered to herself. She was supposed to be the one in charge of the girls. She was supposed to be keeping an eye on them. She was supposed to be protecting them. And she had let this happen. If something happened to either of them, she would never forgive herself.

"It isn't your fault Abby," Gibbs assured her quietly before Tony, Ziva, and McGee ran into the room. Gibbs had called them as he drove home, wanting all of his agents helping him.

"I'm so sorry boss," Tony said, his voice worried. "This is all my fault. I should have known that call was just a diversion, that they were just trying to distract us. I mean, how stupid am I to believe that one guy needed every one of your agents to hear his account?"

"All of you need to quit blaming yourselves and start focusing on getting them back!" Gibbs said, sick of hearing his team blame themselves. It was no ones fault but the bastard who took his girls. He was about to give directions for them to start sweeping the room for prints when his cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and saw that it was an unfamiliar number. He brought his finger to his lips, silencing the team, before opening the phone and putting it on speaker.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Hello Agent Gibbs," a computerized voice said. Gibbs motioned to McGee, who had his laptop already opened, to start tracing the call.

"I'm guessing by now you have noticed that the girls are no where to be found," the voice said, calm and taunting.

"I've noticed," Gibbs said, doing his best to keep his voice under control when what he really wanted to do was scream and threaten his life. "Would you like to tell me who you are and where you have them?" The voice chuckled.

"All in good time, Agent Gibbs. But first, I'm going to ask you to do a few things for me."

"Okay, I'll hear you out," Gibbs said, trying to keep the voice on the line long enough for McGee to track it. "But first I want proof that you have the girls and that they are still alive. There was a long hesitation on the line before it spoke again.

"Very well," it said reluctantly. Almost a minute passed in complete silence before they heard whimpering coming from the phone.

"Gibbs," they heard Sophie's voice say. They could tell she was crying and scared. "Please help us!" she cried. "I don't know where Alena is and I'm so sca-" her voice was cut off by the computerized one. Hearing Sophie's terrified little voice pushed Gibbs too far.

"If you hurt either one of them I swear I will kill you in the most painful way possible you basta-"

"I know you're a smart man, Agent Gibbs. So I know you'll trust me when I say, if you ever want to see Alena and Sophie again, you'll do exactly what I say."

… … … … … …

Alena opened her eyes to more darkness. There was no light and no sound. It was if she hadn't woken up at all. But she had. She knew she was awake by the terrible pain in her head she had gotten when she had tried to fight the men who had grabbed her and Sophie out of their room had hit her head against the corner of the bookshelf. She could also feel wire digging into her wrists and ankles where they were tied together. She tried to stand up but felt that she was also tied to the chair she was in. Wonderful.

Even though her head was still spinning, all she could think about was Sophie. Where was she? Had they gotten her too? She remembered two men coming into their room and grabbing them. She had tried to fight back. She had fought them with everything she had, knowing that if she didn't they might hurt Sophie. But one of them had been able to detain her and knock her unconscious by hitting her head against the shelf. She tried to remember their faces, but recalled that they had been wearing ski masks.

"Sophie?" she called into the darkness. "Sophie, where are you?" There was no response. She kept calling for her sister frantically, but the room remained silent. Her calls got louder and more desperate each time until finally the door opened, light pouring in, hurting her head. She squinted and watched as a man, undoubtedly one of the ones who had taken them from their room, walked in slowly. She still couldn't see his face, shadows blocking it out.

"Where's Sophie?" she asked, not wanting to wait to see her. All fear was pushed from her body and replaced with fury. "Tell me where she is!"

"Your sister is safe," the man said. "but how long that safety lasts depends on your cooperation. If you try putting up a fight, she will pay for it." The voice sounded familiar. Where had she heard it before? She knew she should remember but her head was spinning so much she could hardly focus.

"No, I want to see her," she demanded. "You bring her to me right now you son of a bitch or I swear to god I will-" she was cut off by a fist hitting her face hard. She was too stunned by the pain to say anything for almost a full minute. Her face was hot and she could feel blood trickling down from under her eye.

"Now," he said. "Let's try to be a bit more cooperative, shall we?"

"Why are you doing this?" Alena asked breathlessly.

"I suppose you could say there are many reason, many people, that have caused you and your sister to end up here," he said. "Agent Gibbs, for one." Wait, how had Gibbs caused this? She had no idea what he could have done wrong. "And then there's that father of yours." The figure chuckled softly. "And you can see how this ended for him." Realization quickly overwhelmed Alena. This man standing in front of her, whoever he was, was the man who killed her father.

"Agent Gibbs is going to find us," she said, her voice even. "And he is going to kill you."

The figure only laughed darkly.

"I would let go of that fantasy, kid," he said before hitting her again, this time knocking her unconscious.


	13. Change of Plans

**Change of Plans**

"What the hell happened Nick?!" A man yelled as he walked into the room where Alena sat unconscious in the chair she was tied to. She had blood matted in her hair from where her head had been hit against a shelf and more blood running down the right side of her face from a cut under her eye. The same eye was already shadowed in a deep blue and purple. Her wrists were cut up from where the wire binding her hands together was digging into her flesh. She looked more dead than alive.

"She resisted and was causing a scene," Nicolas, the man who had knocked Alena unconscious almost ten minutes ago, said nonchalantly. "I needed to shut her up for a while."

"You promised me that they wouldn't get hurt!" he yelled. "Well she," he motioned to Alena "is obviously hurt!" He started pacing back and forth, running his hand through his hair and breathing heavily. "This isn't worth the money anymore, Nick," he said softly.

"The money?" Nicolas asked, grabbing the other man's arm, pulling him to a stop. "This was never about the money. Not for you. You wanted to do this because you wanted to keep those girls. Don't for a second act like you were ever in this for the money." He was about to open his mouth to argue when a soft groan came from the other side of the room.

Alena was acutely aware of the terrible pain in her head as she regained consciousness. She couldn't remember what had knocked her out, but she knew exactly what was going on. She looked up to the men on the other side of the room, who were now both looking at her. There was enough light in the room that she could see both of their faces clearly. Her eyes widened.

"Johnny?" she asked softly, not believing her eyes. There was Jonathan Winters, standing with the man who had beat her up. She suddenly remembered where she had heard the voice before; it was Jonathan's brother Nicolas.

She didn't want it to be true. It couldn't be true. Not Johnny. Not the man who she had known her entire life. The man who her father had called his best friend. Her little sister's godfather. The man who, just a few weeks ago, she had wanted more than anything to go live with instead of staying with Gibbs. He couldn't be one of the people who had kidnapped her and Sophie.

"Alena," Jonathan said softly. He moved to go be next to her but Nicolas put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

"How could you?" she asked him in disgust. "My dad trusted you! He thought of you as a brother! And you… killed him." She couldn't even bare to look at him.

"Alena, please," Jonathan said, his voice desperate. "I never meant for this to happen. Not like this. I didn't want him dead! I wasn't involved until after."

"Yeah right," Alena spat. "Why should I believe you?"

"You know me, Lena. You know that I loved your father like he was family. I could never kill him."

"Then what are you doing here? How are you involved if you didn't kill him?!" Alena shouted, not believing him for a second.

Before he could answer, Nicolas pulled him out of the room and slammed the door shut. "What do you think you're doing?!" he demanded. "You were going to tell her everything! My god Jonathan, you really are an idiot."

"But I didn't kill Daniel," he said through his teeth, horrified to be blamed with the death of his best friend. "_You_ killed him! Not me! You killed him and then somehow convinced me to join in your delusional plan to get the insurance money and what was put in his will." That had been Nicolas' plan all along, to use his brother's closeness to Daniel to get whatever money he could out of his death. But then all the money had been left to Daniel's daughters and he knew that, if he could just get them, he would be able to take it all. He had only been able to convince Jonathan to go along with his plan when he had been denied immediate custody of the girls. That's all Jonathan had ever wanted and the only reason he had gone along with it. Jonathan thought that if he kidnapped the girls and made Agent Gibbs think that they would hurt them if he tried to get them back, he could keep them and Nicolas could get the money he had wanted all along.

He had never thought that Nicolas would hurt the girls. And now that he saw what was really going on, he knew that it had been his plan the whole time. And he wasn't going to stop until he got everything he wanted. Jonathan knew his brother, and he knew that he wouldn't let anything stand in the way of getting what he wanted. Even if that came at the cost of Alena and Sophie's lives.

And he couldn't let that happen.

"I don't want to do this anymore," Jonathan said, his voice shaking. "This has gone too far. I never meant for it to get like this. We have to let them go. Nick, this has to end."

Nicolas stared at his brother in disbelief. "You think, that after all of this, I'm just going to give up?" he asked. "Jonathan, this is your one chance, _one chance_, to get custody of these girls. Remember, Agent Gibbs _took_ them from you. They were supposed to be yours as soon as Daniel died, but Agent Gibbs ruined that for you." He paused, giving his brother a moment to think it over. "And think about what will happen to them if you walk out on me now." And with that, Jonathan knew he had lost. He knew that his brother had no problem with killing the girls. The only reason they were still alive was because it was Jonathan's condition for joining in on Nick's plan.

They were both silent for a long time, just waiting for the other to make a move.

"This has to end," Jonathan said at last, no doubt in his voice. He moved towards the door to the room where Alena was trapped, the full intention of releasing her and then going to release Sophie too. He didn't care if he had custody anymore. He just wanted them to be safe. But just as his hand touched the doorknob, a shot rang out and Jonathan Winters fell to the ground.

Nicolas looked at his brother, blood now pouring out of his head, as he held a gun in his hand. There was no way anyone, not even Jonathan, was going to ruin his plans.

… … … … … …

Gibbs paced furiously around the bullpen as he waited for the phone to ring. McGee was sitting at his desk, his computer on and ready to start tracing the call the second Gibbs picked it up. The last call hadn't lasted long enough for him to trace the exact location. He knew that this time needed to work if they wanted to be able to find the girls.

Whoever had kidnapped the girls and called Gibbs the first time had told him that he wanted every trace of Daniel Greene's case to be erased from every system, as if he had never been killed at all. They had then told him that he would call back in two hours for further instructions. Gibbs of course hadn't erased any of the information in hopes that he would be able to get the location from the next call and stop the plan in its tracks.

Exactly two hours and fifteen minutes after the last call had ended, the phone rang. Gibbs picked it up immediately.

"Sorry for the delay," the voice said, this time to computerized cover over it. The voice sounded like it belonged to a relatively young male, probably in his 20s or 30s. The voice, Gibbs noticed, was almost a bit shaky, as if he was nervous or on some sort of adrenaline high. "Something… came up and it needed to be taken care of right away."

"Tell me what you want," Gibbs demanded, not caring why the call was fifteen minutes later than he had been told.

"I assume my last request has been carried out successfully?" he asked.

"It has been," Gibbs lied smoothly.

"I trust you, Agent Gibbs," the caller said. "I know that you know that, if you're lying to me, these precious little girls are going to have to pay for it."

"Just tell me what to do next," Gibbs said, trying not to think about being caught in his lie and Alena and Sophie being hurt for it.

"Well Agent Gibbs, to be honest," the man said nonchalantly. "There isn't much else for you to do. I've gotten everything I need from you. So there has been a change of plans. I am sorry to say that the girls will not be returning to your care. I know it's a bit different from the plans I had originally promised, but things change. Thank you for everything Agent Gibbs." Before Gibbs could respond, the line went dead.

Gibbs immediately turned to McGee, looking at him desperately. He knew that tracing the call was their last chance.

"I got it," McGee said with a nod.


End file.
